Post-game notes, quotes

– The Rangers defeated the Montreal Canadiens, 4-1, tonight at Madison Square Garden for their 50th win of the season. The Blueshirts extended their winning streak to four games, and have won six of the last seven games.

Team Notes:

– New York improved to 50-21-7 (107 pts) overall, including a 27-10-2 mark at home. It is the third time in team history the Rangers reached the 50-win mark, and the first since the 1993-94 team set the franchise record with 52 wins.

– The Blueshirts’ 50 wins are tied for second most in franchise history (1991-92), and their 107 points rank fourth all-time.

– The Rangers now rank first in the NHL overall with 107 points, and maintained their five-point lead over Pittsburgh atop the Eastern Conference standings. New York’s magic number to clinch the top seed in the east is now three points relative to Pittsburgh, and one point relative to Philadelphia.

– The Blueshirts have skated in 14 of 15 scheduled games against Original Six opponents this season, posting a record of 8-6-0 in those contests.

– The Rangers tallied two power play goals in four attempts (6:24), and are now 9-38 (23.7%) in the last 11 games. The Blueshirts are 4-9 (44.4%) with the man advantage in the last two games. New York improved to 24-1-4 when tallying a power play goal.

– The Blueshirts held the Canadiens scoreless in three shorthanded situations (6:00), and are 41-46 (89.1%) in the last 16 games. The Rangers have now held opponents scoreless on the power play in six of the last seven games (16-18, 88.9%), and improved to 34-12-3 when not allowing a power play goal.

– Prior to tonight’s contest, Rangers Captain Ryan Callahan was named winner of the 2011-12 Steven McDonald Extra Effort Award, as voted by the fans, recognizing the player who performs “above and beyond the call of duty.” It is the third time Callahan has captured the award (2008-09, 2009-10).

Player Notes:

– Henrik Lundqvist made 19 saves to improve to 38-16-5 overall, including a 21-8-2 mark at home. His 38 wins tie his career-high, set during the 2008-09 season (38-25-7), and are tied for second most in a single-season by a Rangers’ goaltender in franchise history. Lundqvist extended his winning streak to four games (4-0-0, 1.96 GAA, .916 Sv% over the span), and has held opponents to two or fewer goals in six of the last eight games (6-2-0, 2.10 GAA, .910 Sv% over the span).

– Michael Del Zotto notched two goals, including one on the power play, added an assist on the game-winning, power play goal, and logged 21:18 of ice time while skating in his 200th career NHL game. His first goal at 8:17 of the third period was his 40th point of the season, and his second goal at 16:58 of the third was his career-high, 10th goal of the season. Del Zotto has now tallied six points (three goals, three assists) in the last six games.

– Marian Gaborik opened the game’s scoring with an even strength goal at 8:56 of the first period, added an assist and posted a plus-two rating in 19:47 of ice time. He extended his point streak to four games (four goals, three assists over the span), and has now tallied 15 points (seven goals, eight assists) in the last 12 games.

– Brad Richards registered three points, including the game-winning, power play goal, and two assists, posted a plus-two rating and won a team-high, 10-18 faceoffs (56%) in 18:43 of ice time. He extended his assist/point streak to four games (one goal, six assists over the span), and has tallied 19 points (seven goals, 12 assists) in the last 13 games. Richards ranks second in the NHL in scoring during the month of March with 22 points (seven goals, 15 assists), trailing Pittsburgh’s Evgeni Malkin by one point.

– Derek Stepan tallied the primary assist on both of the Rangers’ power play goals, and logged 18:11 of ice time. His second assist was his 50th point of the season, marking the first time he has reached the 50-point plateau.

– Carl Hagelin recorded an assist and tied for the game-high with five shots on goal in 15:53 of ice time. He has tallied 15 points (five goals, 10 assists) in the last 19 games, including eight points (two goals, six assists) in the last 10 games.

Post-Game Quotes:

– John Tortorella on the team… “I don’t think we are playing our best, I think we are taking steps in the right direction. I think we are going this way. A couple of weeks ago we’re a little bit up and down. The second half of the game in Winnipeg, even those games, they are hard games to play when really a number of the teams we’ve played, they can play loose and free and go about their business. Those are hard games to play. I think we’ve handled ourselves well in the last four, at working at our game and the number of people who contributed.”

– Ryan Callahan on winning the Steven McDonald Award… “It’s a huge honor. I think a lot of guys in this room could have won it this year. Right through the lineup, everybody sacrifices themselves. To get that award, it’s such a special award and I take a lot of pride in it. I’m honored to get it.”

– Brian Boyle on Ryan Callahan… “He leads the way. He’s our leader. That’s the way we all want to play behind him. It makes us better players. How blessed are we to be able to do it here in this city? For a man like that with all he’s gone through, to be proud of us. It’s humbling; it’s hard to describe that feeling. You get goose bumps. I’m sure Cally’s really honored. He deserves it. We all try to follow suit and try to stand in line. It’s a lot of fun to be a part of for a number of reasons: the guys in this room, the fans we have, the city we’re in. It’s kind of surreal sometimes. I have to pinch myself. We’re fortunate to be here.”

– The Rangers will return to action when they face-off against the Boston Bruins on Sunday, Apr. 1, at Madison Square Garden (7:00 p.m.), in an Original Six matchup. The game will be televised live on NBC Sports Network and can be heard on 1050 ESPN Radio

Frequently, the game that Steven McDonald announces the award named in his honor ends up being a loss. I’m not surprised this night ended with our boys putting another two points in the bank. A special night to be sure, but in some respects, just another night at the office.

Sam and Joe didn’t make a big deal about it, but I loved that Richards immediately mixed it up in the first period when he thought that Henrik had been hacked. That’s not his game but I think it says volumes about the bond this team has. I hope our youngsters took note of his action with the PO’s less than two weeks away. It’s time to start putting on the war paint.

Montreal comes to MSG tonight. You know, I’m surprised they fired Gautier. He spoke very good French. After the Gomez trade he called me once a day just to say “Faux Queue, Bas Tair…”

Well, your New York Rangers are in the playoffs. I’m not used to having them clinch so early. Mess! What are we going to do for the last 4 games after this? Maybe we could play Avery and Redden. I still want to get my money’s worth out of those guys…

Speaking of MIA’s, where’s my newest big boy, John Scott? Torts, when you said you were gonna play him religiously I figured that was more than just Sunday mornings. I think you gave him up for Lent.

Lin-g! Lin-g! … Lin-g! Lin-g! That’s Dolan’s new ringtone, I wonder what he wants…
Hey there, Big Guy! How’d the Knicks do tonight? Did Lin get a hat trick, or whatever they have over there? Looks like over here we’re going for the Presidents Trophy. What does the NBA give for first place overall? Yeah, I forget too…Well, you’ll finally have something to put on your mantle besides those old guitar picks and picture of Daddy D….
(click)

Muck! Hey Muckler! Is that Steven McDonald guy one of your draft picks? He’s here a lot, wearing his jersey, but I don’t think he’s played a game yet for the Rangers. Every time I see him he’s always injured. I’m gonna offer him to the Islanders for Dipietro. He’s always injured too. That should be a fair trade.

And for you Negative Nancys out there, eric and Lloyd, I want to assure you that I am doing everything exactly as I have every year since I got here. You can count on that.

Most people like to toot their own beak’s, but the duckbill is a believer in self-deprecation, humility and selfless behaviour. AS such, he must once again owe up to his sentiments last year that Del Zotto was not going to be a factor at the NHL level due to the seemingly slow choppy strides. The Duckbill is wrong, and happy to fess up to his errors. That is all!™